In the Heat of the Night
by tearsofamiko
Summary: Summer of Love challenge ficlet for jim and bones, inspiration: July 16th's pictures.  UNF!   Comes before Hotter'n Blue Blazes


Title: In the Heat of the Night

Author: Tearsofamiko

Character(s): Jim Kirk / Leonard McCoy

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: I like them very much but they are not the hell my whales.

Summary: Summer of Love challenge ficlet for jim_and_bones, inspiration: July 16th's pictures. UNF! (comm is member-locked, sorry ;D) (Comes before Hotter'n Blue Blazes)

A/N: Part of the heat-wave!verse, though this one's prequel hasn't been posted (or completely written) yet.

.:::.

It's the silence that wakes him, the absolute lack of white noise filling the air. He lays there for a second, blinking up at the shadowed ceiling, and tries to figure out why this is a significant enough event to pull him out of a sound sleep.

It happens slowly – he's feeling jet-lagged after a day spent in shore leave out-processing and travel – but eventually he connects the stillness in the air and layer of sweat starting to form on his skin with the silence in the house and the answer isn't pretty. Throwing his blankets off, grateful for his usual habit of sleeping shirtless, he pulls himself up into a seated position and stops to think, trying to figure out what to do next. He drums his fingers on his thighs for a second before making up his mind.

He navigates the downstairs by moonlight, catching sight of an old-fashioned clock as he heads for the stairs. It's just after midnight, not even an hour since they'd headed to bed, Bones up in his bed and Jim on the couch to prevent any uncomfortable encounters or questions, and Jim's leery about disturbing Bones' sleep but figures the man needs to know, especially when he notices that upstairs is noticeably hotter than downstairs.

"Bones," he hisses, feeling warm, stagnant air swirl around his feet as he pushes open the bedroom door.

"What?" Bones sounds alert, reflexes kicking in as he sits up in bed and peers through the darkness at Jim. "What's wrong?"

"Cooling system died," Jim murmurs, keeping his voice down to avoid waking Joanna in the next room; the walls are thin in the house, another reason Jim got to sleep downstairs on the couch.

"Shit." It's short and succinct and manages to completely encapsulate the entire situation. Bones drags a hand down his face, pushing damp hair off his forehead as he keys up the bedroom lights. The bedcovers are piled at the foot of the bed, the pillows wrinkled and shoved around, and it's obvious that it had been hot upstairs for a while without Bones noticing it, judging by the less-than-crisp state of the sheets. Jim drags his eyes off the bed and his mind away from memories of what else could make the bed look like that when Bones stands, looking tired and frustrated and hot as he stares blankly around the room. "Do you think you can fix it?"

Jim hesitates. "Maybe, but I don't wanna risk it, not with a system as old as the one I saw outside." Though everything else about the house was up-to-date tech-wise, the cooling system had been allowed to fall by the wayside, something that boggles Jim's mind when he considers the average temperatures of a Georgia summer.

"Shit," Bones says again and Jim winces. "All right. I'm gonna take Jo over to her mama's, where it's cooler. Don't want her getting sick in this heat," he mutters, digging around in the dresser for a clean t-shirt.

"Okay. Do you want me to-"

"Nah, I got it. Just gotta go wake 'er up," Bones answers, stepping out into the hallway and over to Jo's room, expression tight as he registers the warmth of his little girl's room. There's a sleepy murmur followed by Bones' low voice coaxing Joanna to put her arms around his neck and then Bones is heading down the hallway, carrying his daughter down the stairs and out to the 'car, leaving Jim standing awkwardly in the doorway of Bones' room.

He heads down to the kitchen to get a glass of water, wandering over to poke at the temperature controls as he drinks. Prying the panel off the wall, he inspects the wires, makes sure they're all connected and undamaged, satisfied and frustrated when everything's as it should be. He sets his glass down on the coffeetable and steps outside, walking carefully over the unfamiliar terrain of the yard until he's kneeling by the air conditioner. It makes an occasional click-hum, trying and failing to do its job, and the sound alone tells Jim pretty much everything he needs to know. Leveling one frustrated kick at the unit, he walks back into the house and throws himself down on the couch, feet dangling over one arm and hands stretched over his head.

It's ten minutes to Jocelyn's house, across town from the McCoy lands. Jim lays there on the couch not thinking about anything in particular. He doesn't move, lets the stagnant heat weigh him down, though he doesn't fall asleep either. He won't yet, but not because of the heat – they've spent so much time together over the past five years, he can't sleep unless Bones is somewhere in the general vicinity.

He's floating in that soft place that isn't sleep but is inescapably comfortable when he hears the 'car pull into the drive. Doors open and close and Bones is grumbling something to himself and Jim just can't make himself do much more than open his eyes, staring blankly at the doorway to the front hall, where Bones eventually comes to stand.

He lays there, spread out like some pagan sacrifice on Bones' sofa, as Bones' eyes trail over him, taking in every detail in just the same manner Jim'd used earlier, when Bones'd been out in the yard.

"You should be asleep, Jim." Bones' voice is a deep, molasses rumble, hotter'n sin and sweeter'n honey, and it sends a shiver down Jim's back, draws goosebumps despite the heat. He watches almost warily as Bones stalks into the room and looms over the couch, though he refuses to adjust his posture. Not that it matters when Bones plants one knee between Jim's legs and braces his hands on either side of Jim's head, not touching him at any point but absolutely impossible to ignore.

"So should you," Jim replies, tone cracked and parched as he stares up into luminous hazel eyes and wills the man to move in any direction but away. Elbows bend until there's barely a breath between them and there's a wicked sort of curve to Bones' smile.

"S'cooler down here," he whispers across Jim's mouth before capturing his lips and promptly setting Jim on fire.


End file.
